The Naturalists' Notebook

It’s been nearly eight years since we were last here, not sure why.  The land that is now Walton Park Cemetery was once the Liverpool Parochial Cemetery, then became the burial place of the poor who died in Liverpool and Walton Workhouse hospitals. It is consecrated ground, not available for development, so part of it is the city farm and the rest is recreational woodland.  Some old graves still line the two main paths.

The small birds were getting busy, including Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Greenfinch, Long-tailed Tits, a Coal Tit and some Chaffinches feeding on the ground. Robins were singing and a Wren flashed across the path. Magpies flew between the distant trees and a Sparrowhawk cruised overhead. The woodland is mostly Oak and Ash with an understory of coppiced Hazel, Holly and Ivy. Bluebell leaves were pushing up everywhere and there were large patches of Snowdrops.

There was a row of very old gravestones laid flat next to the woodland path. The oldest commemorated “Henery son of Henery Tyrer died September ye 18th 1746”. The parents and another sister and brother are recorded as dying in 1758, 1766 and 1767.

The most famous grave is that of the socialist author Robert Tressell, who wrote The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists. He died of TB in 1911 and was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave along with 12 others.  The location of his grave was re-discovered in the 1970s and is now marked with a large stone under an overhanging Hazel. Flowers and tubs of plants are still being left in his memory.

His grave is near to the back entrance gate on Hornby Road, opposite Liverpool prison, with the old Walton Gaol buildings standing like a castle keep beyond the modern prison walls.

Scattered in amongst the Victorian graves are some of the simple markers of fallen WWI soldiers put up by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Unusually, there are also about a dozen Dutch War Graves from WWII, clustered in a neatly-mown area next to the farm pastures. They seem to have been naval labourers originating from the Far East (Indonesians?), and appear to have had only one name. A Commonwealth grave is there too, to a “fireman and trimmer” (= stoker) called Ali Mohamed, whose stone bears wonderful Arabic calligraphy.

There is a newly-planted orchard, and the labels on the saplings promise Pear, Apple, Cherry and Damson. When the sun came out around lunchtime we spotted a Red Admiral butterfly on the wing, which must have been tempted out of hibernation by the spell of warm weather. The rare-breed Ryeland sheep are all expecting lambs in April.

After lunch we went into the farmyard, observing their boot-disinfection measures to protect against bird flu. The poultry are all enclosed, as they were at Tam O’Shanter last week. They have some chickens, doves and Guinea Fowl as well as the sheep, pigs, a pony and a donkey. The two Saanen goats (sisters called Iris and Daffodil) have been given some old children’s playground equipment to climb on, and I wondered if this one was going to slide!

We left the farm and took the short footpath along the railway line to the residential street also called Walton Park, crossed Rice Lane and went into the little park on the corner of Evered Avenue by the old Library. A tree there was just bursting into flower. This must be Cherry Plum Prunus cerasifera, which has the first white blossom of spring, blooming a couple of weeks before Blackthorn. Cherry Plum flowers have stalks (as these do) while Blackthorn flowers don’t, apparently. I have never inspected Blackthorn closely enough and I ought to do.

I heard last week that pundits think this will be an excellent spring for all types of blossom, as the weather conditions have been just right. The Quince bush in my front garden seems to be living up to those expectations.

Public transport details: Bus 21 (to Northwood) from Queen Square at 10.05, arriving Rice Lane / Rawcliffe Road at 10.25. We all returned on different buses from Rice Lane / Fazakerley Road at about 2.20

There’s not a lot to see at Flaybrick at this time of year, although we visited the Tibetan Cherry and stroked its lovely ruby-red shining bark.

Last February we spotted some newly-planted Holly trees, with oddly symmetrical leaves, and thought they were the variety ‘Nelly Stevens’, which is said to have lots of red fruit without the need for pollination. They appear to have lived up to expectations, with plenty of berries set in the first autumn since planting.

We went over to Tam O’Shanter Urban Farm for lunch. They seem to have had an infusion of new life, funding and enthusiasm. There was a new kids playground, new fences, new little huts being built, new walkways, fences and gates, more picnic tables, and many more families visiting. One area had marked-out vegetable plots with the names of local primary schools, and they have even cleaned out the pond, possibly for pond-dipping sessions.

There were half a dozen Redwings in the Alpaca field.

The first Hawthorn leaves were breaking.

A member of staff and three young volunteers were cutting Ivy in the enclosure of the Kunekune pigs. It wasn’t for the fat little pigs, but they eagerly snaffled any of the fallen bits.

The Ivy was a treat for the Alpine goats, Norma and Noel. It made me think of the old nonsense song “Mersey Doats” and the line “a kiddlea tyviettoo”

All the domestic birds were enclosed, and there were bowls of disinfectant dip for everyone’s boots, measures against the spread of bird flu.  They have ducks, chickens and Guinea Fowl and the ducks had a couple of tiny paddling pools to mate in. There was a sign up about it, for the benefit of the kids.

Public transport details: Bus 437 (West Kirby) from Sir Thomas Street at 10.04, arriving Upton Road / Boundary Road at 10.30. Returned from the opposite stop on the 437 at 1.45, arriving city centre at 2.05.

We walked down from the station to the seafront, where the tide was nearly fully in. The shorebirds can’t access the sand and mudflats then, and they used to gather on the pontoons in the Marine Lake. However, since the opening of the Wild Waves attraction next to their snoozing spot, the birds seem, not unnaturally, to have been scared off by the big blue inflatable platforms and frolicking families. Today we were happy to see that all the inflatables have gone, and the birds are coming back.

There were Redshank (the bigger ones with the long red legs), Turnstone (dark brown backs, shorter red legs) and Dunlin (the smallest ones, light brown, short black legs).

There were also two Cormorants and a juvenile Herring Gull, looking huge in comparison to the diminutive waders. A man passing by said porpoises (presumably Harbour Porpoises) are often seen around the Fort at high tide. We ambled along, watching the bay and the river, but no porpoises. But we did see a flock of about 30 Cormorants heading out to sea past the lighthouse. We haven’t seen so many together before. There wasn’t much more wildlife to see, but we mooched about, watching the life of the river. The New Brighton Lifeboat had gone out on a practice run into the bay and we watched it return to its trailer and being tractored back ashore.

After lunch we walked around the corner of Wirral, going south, and found there was a strong cold wind blowing into our faces. We hurried past the remains of the kid’s pirate ship, the Black Pearl.

Our destination was Vale Park, where we looked at their new Celebration Garden, where the bereaved can arrange to have memorial stone to their loved one set into the paving. This is just for remembrance, not ashes. We inspected the new flower beds, and found two newly-planted shrubs with tags saying they were Viburnum burkwoodii, new ones to us. They bear large pom-poms of white flowers and are said to be very fragrant. We also looked for the park’s Mulberry (on the corner of the path north west of the band pavilion) and also spotted a Camperdown Elm on the other side of the railings. Many that we knew of have died in the last few years, so it’s good to see a survivor. They also have a well-grown Silk Tassel bush Garrya elliptica, looking spectacular at this time of year.

On the other side of the river we spotted Everton Football Club’s new stadium under construction at Bramley-Moore Dock.

There’s a large plant growing in the rocks and sand on the corner opposite the Floral Pavilion theatre. I think it’s a Tree Mallow Lavatera arborea.

It’s close to the finger post showing “New Brightons of the World.”

Public transport details: Train from Central at 10.20, arriving New Brighton 10.45. Returned on bus 432 at 2.24 from King’s Parade / Morrisons, arriving city centre at 2.50.

Back to Sefton Park on a mild, overcast day, with an occasional chilly breeze. Just by the path descending to the southern end of the lake was a lovely surprise, a small tree with emerging pink blossom. I think it is Winter-flowering Cherry Prunus x subhirtella, a hybrid originating in Japan, and unknown in the wild.

People were feeding the birds, as usual, and the Canada Geese and Coots were fighting to get it.

Several of the Coots were ringed, and we managed to read a couple of the codes. Later I discovered there is a much-improved system for reporting them, a website called the Waterbird Colour-marking Group.  It allows you to report British-ringed Coots, Black-headed-Gulls, Curlews, Barnacle, Greylag, Canada and Pink-footed Geese, Moorhen, Shelduck and Wigeon. And it returns the results immediately from their database.  The Coots we saw, LRF and LAN, had both been ringed in the park within the last few years, so weren’t exciting wanderers. 
 
The usual birds were present in big numbers. Coots, of course, Feral Pigeons and Mallards. Spring was stirring up the Canada Geese, and many of the males were trying to impress their partners by honking for all they were worth.

Further out were two Mute Swans, last year’s cygnets apparently gone. Some Moorhens were pottering about on quiet grassy banks, minding their own business. One solo male Gadwall, possibly the same one as we saw on 6th November, was attracting the interest of a female Mallard. There were about a dozen male Tufted Ducks, but only one female. What’s happening there?

A lady passing by, seeing our binoculars, directed us up the western bank to a spot where there were bird feeders which usually attracted Ring-necked Parakeets. A couple of them were perching high in the trees. We also spotted this interesting fungus on a fallen log. It was some sort of small white bracket, frilly and looking rather like scallop shells. The older ones were a browner colour, but all were soft and flexible.  I’m not good at fungi, but it might be from the genus Seletocutis, although they are said to be hard to differentiate.

The Witch Hazel near the café was in full bloom and nearby was the bushy evergreen Sweet Box, Sarcococca confusa. It blooms in winter, and its white flowers have a strong sweet scent likened to honey or vanilla.

The lady who had directed us to the Parakeets had also said she thought Kingfishers were back in the park. We went along past the aviary but saw no sign of one. There might have been a Goldcrest in a Scots Pine overhead, but it was too deep in the foliage to be sure. There was another flowering tree on the corner by the Eros fountain, a Bodnant Viburnum Viburnum x bodnantense, and the sun also caught the wonderful stems of the Red-stemmed Dogwood.

After getting cold while sitting for lunch, we went into the Palm House to warm up. Our impression was that many of the plants seemed to have had a recent problem, with sections of dry, brown leaves.  There were also biological pest control tags hanging among the branches, containing tiny pupae of a parasitic wasp used to control whitefly.

South of the Palm House is an area where there are bird feeders on both sides of the path. A Jay flew in and looked at us, but when we scattered seed on the path, all we got was this poor male Chaffinch, with something wrong with his feet. It appears to be something well-known in Chaffinches, and is caused by either a papillomavirus, or by Cnemidocoptic mites. The BTO says about 3-4 per cent of Chaffinches get this, and it is more common in winter, suggesting the affected birds are from the seasonal influx of migratory birds from mainland Europe. This poor little fellow was gobbling the easy food we had supplied and seemed less timid than usual. Hunger had overcome caution. 

There was a very decorative feeder hanging on the other side of the path, well patronised by Blue Tits and Great Tits, and also a few Long-tailed Tits.

A small Hazel shrub was showing off its catkins (male flowers), and also the tiny female flowers with their protruding red stigmas.

As we made our way back along the east side of the lake, we spotted a single Little Grebe by the island, and we were struck by how many people (and dogs) were out, and also how many more birds had congregated since the morning. There must have been getting on for 300 Black-headed Gulls wheeling above the places where people were scattering food. Very few had black heads coming in, but not all had juvenile plumage. Perhaps one- or two-year olds, not yet mature?

On the far side of the lake a young man was sitting on a bench playing a guitar and singing “The Fool on the Hill” (quite well). His song carried gently over the water. 

Public transport details: Bus 82 from Elliot Street at 10.10, arriving Aigburth Road opposite Ashbourne Road at 10.30. Returned on 82 bus from Aigburth Road / Jericho Lane at 2.50, arriving city centre 3.10.

It was a cold day for our first Sunday walk of 2023, a few degrees above freezing, but at least it wasn’t slippery underfoot. We had limited choice of where to go because all south-bound buses were diverted and disrupted by the Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown, all Northern Line trains were off because of engineering works, and we though it was too cold for anywhere on the coast, so we hopped on a bus to Birkenhead Park.

There was thin ice still hanging on in the middle of the lake, but around the edges there were the usual park denizens. Coots, Mallards, Moorhens, Canada Geese and Mute Swans. A Cormorant sailed by in breeding plumage, with striking white patches about its face.  One Mallard flew in to splash down on the water, but hit an icy bit and executed a wonderful controlled slide of about 30m (100 feet), almost to the bank. A juvenile Herring Gull was strutting about on it.

There were Blue Tits and Great Tits flitting about, Starlings making whistling calls from high in the trees and a Song Thrush was foraging on the grass. We stopped to look at some Long-tailed Tits in some Holm Oak and Holly near the Boat House, and spotted a Goldcrest quite low down. It was in continuous motion, so impossible to catch in a good pose, but one of the pictures I took is at least recognisable as a Goldcrest.

The Visitors’ Centre has blue plaques to both of the famous landscape architects William Paxton and Edward Kemp, who designed and built the historic park from 1843 onwards. Some of the old trees may yet be their original plantings.

In winter it is easier to spot some strange root and trunk formations. There is a Yew with a twisted stem and some wonderful exposed Beech roots on a bank.

We saw only one newly-planted tree, which wasn’t possible to identify at a distance behind its elaborate four-stakes-and-chicken-wire cage, but a sign said it was part of the Queen’s Green Canopy, planted for the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. It will be something of a memorial, if it lives. One Hazel tree had its catkins out and we found the rather sick-looking Persian Ironwood tree in a little glade off the path north of the footbridge (by the exercise machine called Seated Chest Press). It had a few of its early crimson-in-black flower buds breaking open. Weeping willows are very “blonde” at this time of year, because the bark on the hanging twigs is surprisingly yellow.

After lunch we crossed Ashville Road to the upper park.  There is a Turkish Hazel tree opposite the  Victorian post box and it also had catkins out, but they are darker than those of common Hazel.  Alder trees are easily identifiable at this time of year by their little cones and emerging catkins. One by the upper lake had Crows on it, apparently eating something. Was it the tiny seeds left in the old cones, or were they after the new catkins? They had to be pretty hungry in either case.

Quite a few people were putting out seed for well-loved resident Robins, but the hordes of pigeons soon descended and gobbled it all up.

The only new bird on the upper park lake was a single female Tufted Duck, but lurking in the far shrubbery was a Heron.

I claimed my first sign of Spring on 18th December, a Black-headed Gull at West Kirby with its black head coming in. Since then I have been keeping my eye open for others. Second was the Witch Hazel in my garden, flowering on about 7th January. A Silk Tassel tree had its long catkins dancing in the wind on 13th January. 

Today we saw Hazel and Alder catkins, and Persian Ironwood flowers. I was also looking out for Snowdrops. The ones in my garden seem to be late, and there were none in Birkenhead Park. I spotted one just-emerging clump in a dark corner of Victoria Park on the way home.

Public transport details: Bus 437 from Sir Thomas Street at 10.20, arriving Park Road N / Birkenhead Park at 10.35. Returned from Park Road N / Duke Street on 437 bus at 1.52, arriving Liverpool 2.05.

It has been a very cold week, with freezing conditions around the clock. Today, warm air is said to be coming northwards, driving sleet and rain before it. It had started to hail as I set out this morning. We had tentatively planned to go to Hoylake and walk around the north-west corner of Wirral at Red Rocks, ending up at West Kirby, but that seemed foolhardy in those conditions. We decided to go to Gilroy Pool instead, so set off from Hoylake up New Hall Lane. To our surprise, there is an new attraction along there, Whitegate Animal Sanctuary.

There were no animals to be seen, just empty huts and kennels. They seem to specialise in ex-farm animals, and there are posters strung along the fences, giving the names and histories of some of their charges. Pumba and Portia the pigs are ex-pets that grew too large, Bob and Ben the sheep were the surplus third lambs of triplets, while Bobby the goat was an unwanted male kid from a dairy farm. They must all have been taken inside in this severe weather, and the only thing to see in the empty paddock was this group of Toadstools.

As we walked along, the path got icier, and we finally gave up when the slippery surface left no bare patches to pick a way through.

There is also a path alongside Hoylake station car park which runs past the golf course to West Kirby, but that looked treacherous too, so we took the next train to West Kirby, arriving just after 12. In the station yard, three miserable pigeons huddled against the wall. Not quite Three French Hens or even Two Turtle Doves.

After a pit stop in Morrisons we found it had it started to rain. We were looking for a lunch spot, but there is no shelter in Sandlea Park so we walked along to Victoria Gardens which has little wooden gazebos. Quite a few birds had decided it was a good place, too. There was a Blackbird in and out of the shrubbery, two Redwings on the lawn, two Pied Wagtails on the path, a Crow, and was that a Wren diving for cover?  On the way there we had spotted what looked like some people heading out to Hilbre. Hardier than us!

All along the South Parade there were Mermaid’s Purses in the road.  There must have been a recent very high tide to have washed them up onto the road. The short-stay car park has a sign saying “Parking at your own risk, liable to tidal flooding”. The new flood defences are definitely needed. The Marine Lake was showing white caps on the waves, but there was still one brave soul windsurfing. There was a single Redshank and about a dozen Black-headed Gulls on the pontoons near the watersports centre. One Gull had its black head coming in, which I claim as my first sign of spring.

No more Sunday walks until 22nd January, and here’s Merseyrail’s spectacular Christmas greeting sign.

Public transport details: West Kirby train from Central 10.35, arriving Hoylake 11.03. Returned from West Kirby at 2.31, arriving Liverpool Central 3.10.

It was a bright sunny day, but just above freezing, with hardly any breeze. This made for misty conditions on the marsh and over the pools towards the Flintshire shore, with some snow showing on the Clwydian mountains.

High tide was due about 1pm, so the pools were quite full of water, but there were very few birds on them, just a few Mallards and Gulls. A Dunnock was flitting through the vegetation by the sea wall and we saw a Little Egret at a distance. A Heron flew in, low over the houses, heading towards the marsh. A smaller bird flew over our heads, southwards along The Parade.  It was about the size of a Kestrel, and it flew level, straight and purposeful, like a falcon would. But it seemed to be all greyish-greenish-fawn, and John thought its tail was too long for a Kestrel, and was put in mind of a Ring-necked parakeet. But it was only a glimpse, so maybe it was a Kestrel after all. More exciting was a report from some people coming back from the Old Baths area, who said there was a Kingfisher at the far end. So we headed that way. There were interesting plants growing in the tangle beyond the sea wall, including two large clumps of Sea Beet and spikes of Burdock seed heads.

Before we could settle down for lunch in the grassy area beyond the car park we first had to brush the melting ice off the picnic table and benches! All the molehills amongst the grass had frosty tops like Christmas puddings.

A bold and hungry Robin hopped on the sea wall by our feet, and of course we gave it crumbs from our sandwiches.

There was another Little Egret there.

On an island in a pool there was a long-legged bird. A Curlew? No, it had a straight bill so it was a Godwit. It flew off just as I took its picture so you can clearly see that it’s a Black-tailed Godwit.

There was a small Oak bush there, and it reminded me that on our bus journey across the Wirral that morning, especially near Thornton Hough, the mature Oaks in the hedgerows had held onto their golden leaves and were glowing in the bright low sun.

The only flower of the day was Gorse, which is always in season.

Then John found the Kingfisher, poised on a branch overlooking a little stream, about 25 yards away. Hooray!

We headed back for the 1.30 bus, and no, we didn’t have ice creams. Brrr!  We noted that one of the detached houses near the Old Baths had a giant teddy on the balcony.

Public transport details: Bus 487 from Sir Thomas Street at 10.29, arriving Parkgate Mostyn Square at 11.25. Returned on the 487 from Mostyn Square at 1.30, arriving Liverpool 2.25.

It was a cold and murky day with a penetrating north-east wind and odd spots of rain, but it was calm and sheltered in the woods. The last time we were here was almost a year ago, on 12th December 2021, in the wake of storms Arwen and Barra. Many trees had come down. They have tidied them up a bit, but many logs and stumps have been left to rot, the brash has been collected into woodpiles and there are now large glades which will be open to the sun (and new growth) in the years to come.

Down by the shores of the Mersey, outside the Eastham Ferry Hotel, we found out how sheltered the woods had been. It was cold! There were just two Mallards in the water, and a few Redshanks flew in with their piping calls. We were almost end-on to the runway at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and visibility was so poor that they had put all their landing lights on.

The Visitors’ Centre was still not open. It seems to have been closed for at least a year. We were looking forward to being inside and looking out at the birds in their garden. We wondered if the birds were still being fed, and so we went around the back, peered through the fence and hedge and were disappointed to see everything looking neglected, and the feeders hanging empty. What a shame. There were fallen leaves of a Tulip Tree on the ground back there, but we couldn’t find the tree itself. We had seen the leaves on the display board in the Visitors’ Centre in previous visits but had never found the tree. Perhaps it is in the ranger’s neglected garden or the adjacent Café garden.

The big stone steps there are a relic of the old Victorian Pleasure Garden. There is an interesting sign up about it, and a blue plaque to the high-wire superstar of the day, Blondin, who performed here in his heyday.

We walked north almost as far as Riverwood Road then doubled back along the northern path. This is supposed to be a bluebell wood, so we should come again in spring to see that. The woods are all Beech here, and have a darker, more coppery look, especially with the low midwinter light.

Public transport details: All Wirral buses were moved to Queen Square because today’s Santa Dash was to run down Sir Thomas Street.  Bus 1 at 9.58 towards Chester. During the journey this bus changed its route identity to an X1, but it arrived in any case at 10.35 at New Chester Road / opp Woodyear Road. Returned from New Chester Road / Allport Road on the number 1 bus at 1.30, arriving Liverpool 2.05.

We expected that going to West Kirby would be like a trip to the seaside, but we found lots of  digging along South Parade, both north and south of the Dee Lane slipway. The whole walk along the promenade was blocked off by barriers, as part of the flood protection works. The nearest we came to it was a small part of the Marine Lake by the watersports centre. On the pontoon, amongst the Black-headed Gulls, was a single Turnstone, but then about forty more flew in and they began to pick along the seaweedy edge.

We almost missed the LittleEgret, which was fishing right by the sea wall. There was nobody walking along the lake side, so there were no gawkers hanging over the railing to look at it and it could hunt undisturbed.

We walked inland to Ashton Park and its small ornamental lake. It’s a good place for those sorts of urban birds, with Canada Geese, Mallards, a Moorhen, a few Coots, lots of Black-headed Gulls and also lots of Herring Gulls, brown-feathered juveniles, grey and white adults but also some in-betweeners, sub-adults with a mix of brown and white feathers (middle bird below). It takes them several years to become old enough to breed.

At one end of the lake is a lovely Atlas Cedar of the “Blue” variety.

On the opposite side of the bowling green I think there is a Cedar of Lebanon on the edge of the shrubbery. There aren’t many in Merseyside, as many of the old park specimens have grown old and died. It’s the flat-topped tree with the level branches.

To be sure, I needed to see the cones, as the ones from Cedars of Lebanon are said to be pointed. However, they don’t fall from the trees like pine cones do, so it’s hard to see the tops of them. The ones above me on the trees seemed to have pointed tops, not dimpled tops (as Atlas Cedars have). The needles were all the same length and short. (Deodar Cedars have some long needles in the bunches).

We lunched in the so-called Secret Garden, although it is well-signposted. Half a dozen grey squirrels were around our feet, cheekily hoping for crumbs. We returned along the lake, admiring the old and straggly Weeping Willow on the island, sheltering the duck nesting boxes.

To our surprise, there was a Heron roosting high in the tree, with its head tucked under its wing.

An even greater surprise was to see a Little Egret up there. I’ve never seen one in a tree in a park before. It might have been the same one as we saw earlier in the day, but there could be two of them in West Kirby at the moment. Not so many years ago it would have caused a big twitch! (= A gathering of hardcore birdwatchers, some of whom have travelled halfway across the county, all hoping for a big new tick on their species lists.)

We went back into the town centre via the last bit of the Wirral Way, which was looking beautifully golden and autumnal.

Dead stems bore black seeds, apparently from some sort of umbellifer. We guessed they were from the seaside plant Alexanders, and I have since confirmed it. Foragers’ guides say they are edible, not straight off the plant, but when ground or chopped they are peppery and can be used as a spice. Some foragers put them in bread.

There was lots of new foliage of Alexanders nearer the ground, and amongst them lots of Harlequin ladybirds moving sluggishly, but not hibernating yet. Below that were occasional flashes of red-orange berries from Stinking Iris.

The confusion of nature by this mild autumn continues. Bramble was in bud and flower.

In the tiny Sandlea Park, we didn’t find lots of seeds under the Walnut trees. Unlike Oak and Black Walnut, they don’t seem to have had a good year. But the edible vegetables in one of the flower beds were flourishing, with Swiss Chard looking particularly fine, and one very late flower on a strawberry plant. The roses in the other bed were still budding and flowering profusely.

Public transport details: Train from Central at 10.05, arriving West Kirby at 10.35.  Returned from West Kirby Station at 2.01, arriving Central at 2.38.

On the way through Churchtown we stopped in the small Civic Garden (also known as North Meols Garden). We found this winter-flowering Viburnum x bodnantense blooming already, which is quite early. The tree variety originated in Bodnant Gardens in 1935 as a cross made by their head gardener.

The Botanic Gardens were having their Christmas Fair, and the place was packed! A local choir were singing carols by the entrance, and there were various stalls, some goats on display to raise funds for the Woodlands Animal Sanctuary, donkey rides, and the Fernery was taken over for Santa’s grotto. Meanwhile, one of Santa’s lady stand-ins was helping children to write a letter to Father Christmas. More pictures on their Facebook page, including the lovely grotto in the fernery which we didn’t see.

We found seats for our lunch by the bowling green, and managed to eat most of our sandwiches before the mist and rain roiled in and we had to take shelter under an awning. The bowling club continued their game through it all.

There is a beautiful Maple tree there, possibly some kind of Japanese Maple, with glowing autumn foliage.

The tree next to it was bearing huge pears, many of which had fallen. They were hard as nails (we couldn’t squash them with our boots) although the birds seem to have managed to get into some of them.

On the lake were Mallards, a Coot or two, and a Mute Swan family with four big cygnets.

Then we had another torrential downpour, and we all had to shelter under the awnings. As soon as it eased off we headed for the bus. The Salvation Army Band played us out. We had terrible weather last time we were here (28 Nov 2021) so I am now banned from suggesting it again at this time of year!

Public transport details: Train from Central at 10.23, arriving Southport 11.13. Then bus 44 from Hoghton Street at 11.21, arriving at Marshside Road / Cambridge Road at 11.33. Returned on bus 49 from Botanic Road / Botanic Gardens at 1.36, arriving Southport Monument at 1.50, then on the train at 1.55, due Liverpool 2.45.